Palais des Ducs et des États de Bourgogne

Lonely Planet review

Once home to the region's powerful dukes, the Palais des Ducs et des États de Bourgogne is in the heart of old Dijon. Given a neoclassical façade in the 17th and 18th centuries while serving as the seat of the States-General (parliament) of Burgundy, it overlooks place de la Libération, a semicircular public square designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart (one of the architects of Versailles) in 1686.

The western wing is occupied by Dijon's city hall. Inside the arch across the street from 92 rue de la Liberté, you can see Escalier Gabriel (1730s), a monumental marble stairway with gilded railings that's named after its architect.

The eastern wing houses the Musée des Beaux-Arts , whose entrance is next to the Tour de Bar, a squat 14th-century tower that once served as a prison.